Hey Rev, I never got those videos you promised me!
p.s. - Don't need a wife for that!!

 

My wife says that our XKR completes her, therefore she wants to drive it more and more. That is all, carry on...

 

I can't believe I missed this last year... well better late than never. You wouldn't be insinuating that she was retriving the french fry you dropped were you...?!

 

This is actually something I would like to do also...I think it would reduce wind buffeting with or without a wind deflector.

There are two additional issues that I think need to be investigated further though. First is can you apply voltage to those wires without damaging the outputs that normally drive the wires from the convertible top module control portion of the Body Processor Module? Second is there any mechanical issue closing the top on a raised rear window...since this never happens in the normal sequence of events.

If one or both of these turn out to be problems, this is still doable, but may require a bit more circuitry.

 

Yeah, a couple diodes preventing feedback to the BPM might be good insurance.

 

Yep, that's what I was going to do. I bought some rectifier diodes at Radio Shack tonight. But now I can't find the bag of switches that I bought last year. I bought 5 three position momentary rocker switches. They seem to have disappeared.

 

I am SOOOO glad I dug this thread out!!!

Go Reverend Go!!!!

I planned on doing the alien beacon switch tomorrow and would love to leave room for a 2nd matching switch for the windows.

First though, gotta take a road trip to the fabricator working on the Buick. Got new front and rear ends and the frame is now boxed in. Body is ready to go back on and start the process of removing the wood frame and installing steel tubing. Lots of projects...

Father Sam -- Interested in what you come up with!!!

 

I cannot help but think that there was some good reason that Jag engineers did not allow for this....hopefully it was just cost and not a technical reason.

 

Woohoo! I found the little bag of switches. I will be doing this tomorrow, along with installing another switch to keep the alien beacon from becoming aroused when the CD player is spinning.

 

You da man!!!

From what I've read, you can keep the beacon down and still have decent FM reception.

Looking forward to your fix, video or not!!!

 

Yes, you do get some reception from strong stations, but FM reception it is markedly poorer with the antenna down. On the rare ocasions I need the radio, the alien beacon goes back up.

 

SUCCESS!!!

Today I finally decided that THIS would be the day that I figured out how to roll up the back windows with the top down. I had done my research, I knew in theory how it was supposed to work, it was just a matter of finding the right wires. It ended up taking me about 4 hours, but I took frequent breaks to watch Carolina lose to Kentucky If I were to do it all over again without having to figure it out along the way, I could probably do it in 90 minutes or less.

So, as of about 9:00 PM today, I can now roll my rear windows up and down independently of the convertible top! The convertible still works exactly as it is supposed to. I don't know what happens if I try to put up the top with the windows up. I haven't tried that yet. But I think the windows should be down when the convertible goes up, so I plan on rolling them down before putting the top up. I'm kinda thinking that the top won't move with the windows up, but I'm not sure.

So, my quest that began on June 6, 2010 has finally ended! It only took me 9 months and 18 days!

 

Oh yeah... I made a video of the process, but in reality the space it too small to show what I was doing (I was working in the "tunnel" under the arm rest). I'm going to summarize everything with some pictures and wiring diagrams so you can see how I did it. I'll see how the video looks, too. If you can't see what I'm doing, then the pics and diagrams will have to suffice.

 

Big THANKS. You definitely are a great asset to this forum!

 

I've changed my mind... I could do this in 30 minutes now. It took me so long because I wanted to put a diode in series with the existing wires so that I wouldn't back-feed voltage into the Body Processor Module. It turns out that the BPM actually puts out a ground, rather than +12v. You can raise and lower the windows just by putting a ground on the appropriate wires. Because of that, I'm about 93.4% sure that the diode is unnecessary. So, this can be done just by using two of those wire taps that you can buy at any parts store. You clamp the taps onto the appropriate wires, slide another wire onto each tap, connect the wires to the switch, and run a third wire to a ground screw, which is easily available right there in the tunnel. Cutting of existing wires is completely unnecessary.

If there is anyone in the Raleigh area who wants me to do this to their car, and is willing to hold a camera while I do it, just send me a PM. I'm telling you, 30 minutes at the most.

 

This is fantastic!!...but before this goes viral......we still need to know what happens when you put the top down with the rear windows still up.

I know you can manually lower them, but I also know I would forget to sometimes.

 

You can't put the top down with the rear windows up. The computer that controls the top won't allow it. This little thing I did doesn't change the normal operation of the top/rear windows. It still works just the way it always did. I now just have the added ability to roll the rear windows back up when the top is still down.

I'm going to go out to the garage and see what happens if I try to put the top UP with the rear windows up. BRB.

 

So if i is a ground to activate, what is the level when it is inactivated: open circuit or +12v ?

 

OK, here's what happens. If the rear windows are UP and you raise the convertible top, they do not automatically come down. So, if you do this mod I'm going to assume you'll need to lower the windows before raising the top. I say "assume", because I don't know what happens if you try to raise the top with the rear windows up. It might work perfectly, but since the computer lowers the front windows slightly when you raise the top, I assume the rear windows should also be lowered slightly. The computer does not do that, therefore you need to do it manually.

Let me just add that raising and lowering the rear windows with the newly installed rocker switch is just SO FREAKIN' COOL! I'm going to wear out my window motors because I keep playing with it. LOL!

 

Thats what I really meant but said backwards.